The Sounds of Silence
The Sounds of Silence is the twelfth episode in Tremors: The Series Letter to Burt Gummer from Tyler Reed Hi, Burt. Since you ordered me to keep a "precise log of local occurrences" while you're in Idaho buying a secondhand military periscope — Okay, that last sentence is weird enough by itself. But there's more. Dr. Donna Debevic, an animal-communications expert, came to Perfection Valley to record El Blanco's vocalizations. She nearly ended up studying them from inside his stomach — until she monitored an underground screeching noise that drove off the Graboid. The noise also fouled up our tracking equipment. (I'll give you the repair receipts when you get back.) Because Donna's truck had a flat, I gave her a lift back to town. At Chang's, we met our favorite groupie, Larry Norvel. Seems he's decided to move here. (Deep breaths, Burt. Stay calm.) Donna concluded that the mysterious screeching noise wasn't from another Graboid. Which is a shame, 'cause we know how to handle Graboids. Twitchell arrived on the scene, then Larry pointed out that our monitors were now showing five mysterious blotches traveling underground. Another malfunction? Or big bad trouble? This is Perfection: Of course it was trouble. Donna guessed that we were dealing with underground insect-swarms. Their screeching reminded her specifically of cicadas. Then Rosalita arrived, and she was freaked out. While we'd been studying the problem, she'd nearly been killed when a swarm of bugs attacked one of her sheds. While Larry was trying to weasel into Jodi and Nancy's good graces in Perfection, the rest of us checked out the sawdust remains of Rosalita's shed. Donna mentioned that the devastation seemed like the work of termites. Naturally, I thought of Mixmaster, the DNA-blending chemical that coats this valley like algae on a public swimming pool. Well, I was right. (Please, Burt, contain your surprise.) Our DNA analysis of one of the dead bugs revealed that it was part termite, part cicada and part maggot. Great. "Part maggot" meant the critter didn't just eat wood — it ate flesh. Sure enough, a swarm found Twitch and nearly chowed down on Mr. Interior's exterior. Much as the guy's a pest himself, I'm glad I arrived in time to save him. A couple of road workers Twitch had been trying to warn weren't so lucky. We found them dead, gnawed down to bone by the bugs. Everyone gathered back in town. It was time to circle the wagons — or run for the hills. Swarms of ravenous bugs were converging on us. We were nearly surrounded. Donna, Larry and I NASCAR'd it out to Donna's abandoned pickup and scanned through her insect mix tapes. She had recordings of termite mating noises — Barry White for bugs. We pumped up the jams on Larry's hundred-amp car speakers and drove back toward town. The bugs had blanketed Chang's, with our friends trapped inside. Hearing the mating calls, though, the screeching swarm fell silent and started following Larry's car. We lured the swarm to the road-work area. I laid down some new tar, Larry lured the bugs onto it, and Donna doused the whole sticky mess in gasoline. Nothing left after that but the victory bonfire. (Please, Burt, no applause — just throw money.) Let me know if you need a hand hooking up that periscope. — Tyler (P.S. — You're out of Tabasco sauce. Sorry. My bad.) Plot Larry has returned to Perfection and, much to the dismay of the residents, he's not there to visit, but to move to the town! A new scientist, Donna Debevic has arrived in town to record Graboid sounds from El Blanco. But she finds something else. Initially, she assumes it's more Graboids, but the sounds are too different. Rosalita is puzzled that someone has stolen her fence posts and even more so they they managed to do it without disturbing the wire that was attached to the posts. When she goes to her (wooden) garage, it falls apart as large black bugs start eat it. Twitchell has arrived to investigate the situation, although he's annoyed when Donna reveals the assumed Graboids are actually large swarms of mutant insects. After taking one of the dead bugs from Rosalita's car, she uses Casey's equipment to analyze their DNA and discovers that Mixmaster has fused termite, cicada and maggot into one lifeform. While on his way to the road crew working nearby, Twitchell discovers several fresh cow skeletons and it is revealed the insects also eat meat in addition to wood. Donna and Tyler come up with a plan to lure the insects into a trap, using a termite mating call and the powerful sound system in Larry's car. When the insects follow Larry's car onto the freshly asphalted road, Tyler sets fire to it as the bugs swarm, killing them all. Cast Category:Episode